Universal Twist
by Dark Diamond 13
Summary: What if Albedo got a second chance from Azmuth, but he had to stay on Earth and adjust? Craziness, that's for sure. There will be ups and downs, but ultimately, something will happen. Will it succeed or fail? Rated T for caution and swear words.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A Rainy Day

It was a rainy day. To be specific, it was the third day of rain Bellwood had been experiencing. When you woke up, it was raining. When you slept it was still raining. And the stupid rain had no intentions of letting up anytime soon.

A black and green car swiftly drove into an abandoned parking lot, close to an empty warehouse.

Ben Tennyson stepped out of it, and ran into the warehouse quickly. Even then, he was soaked.

"As Grandpa would say, 'it's a fine day for ducks.' But, unfortunately, I think even fishes would drown in this weather," he muttered, shaking his head. In applause to that action, water droplets sprayed around him.

"Well, genius, you know that fishes live in water, right? So, it's impossible for a fish to drown. Even in the metaphorical sense, your statement clearly betrays your stupidity," a familiar voice rang out from the shadows. Ben froze.

 _What the hell is he doing here?_ "Albedo, what are you doing here?" Ben readied himself to use the Omnitrix.

"Put down the weapon," Albedo said dryly, "I come in peace." He came out of the shadows with his arms raised halfheartedly.

Ben hesitated. It could be a trap, couldn't it? But somehow, he knew it wasn't. He relaxed his posture. In response, Albedo mirrored him. They both stared at each other for a few seconds. Nobody moved.

"Is there a light switch here, or do you have a flashlight? It's kind of dark…"

Albedo walked off some distance to the left. A 'click' noise was heard, and then a lone bulb turned on. There were a few more clicks, and soon the entire room was illuminated, excluding some far corners.

"Thanks," Ben said. Then he realized something. "Do you-"

He never got to finish the question. "Yes, I do live here." Albedo paused. "Part of the time."

Ben looked at him. "How can you live in a place 'part of the time'?"

Albedo silently cursed himself. "That's none of your business, Benjamin. Now I'd like to ask a question. Why are you here?"

"It isn't obvious? There's a window, for crying out loud. It's raining cats and dogs, and it was a miracle I was able to drive – the roads are completely flooded."

"It's that bad now?"

"It's a miracle the entire town isn't underwater!" As if to complement the statement, thunder boomed, and lightning followed.

"Drat." Ben looked at Albedo. Albedo was looking at the door. Specifically, he was looking at the water seeping in from a crack on the bottom of the door.

"Do you have anything to plug it?"

 _This town really is flooding,_ Albedo thought, ignoring Ben's question. He walked off and hot a stone from a corner of the room, then wedged it into the crack, effectively stopping the flow of water.

"That should do it, at least for now." He then returned to the topic of the original conversation. "You were driving in this weather? I'm no ally of yours, but you know you could have crashed? Maybe even died if you crashed hard enough. This weather has been going on for a while now. Shouldn't you have gone home before it started raining?"

"Hey pal, not everyone is busy plotting revenge schemes. I had a lot of things to do, and the weather forecast said it would just be a series of light showers, not heavy rainfall."

"First thing: meteorologists aren't perfect, and they can make mistakes. Second off, if I was plotting revenge, don't you think you'd know by now?"

Ben raised an eyebrow.

"I would have attacked you already, dimwit!" Thunder boomed.

"That doesn't make sense." Albedo resisted the urge to smack his palm over his face. Lightning flashed across the sky.

"The weather would make it difficult for you to locate me, and I'd be able to get away scot-free."

"Why are you telling me this? I'll be ready for your next attack; you're helping me."

"It isn't obvious that I've given up? How long has it been since I last tried anything?"

"About… half a year."

"And if I still intended malice, you'd have been unconscious the moment you fully got into this place."

"…True."

There was silence for a while. Albedo eventually sat down on the floor and booted up a laptop.

Ben was instantly suspicious. "You have a laptop?"

"I stole it." Albedo showed no sign of shame.

"Really? For what? And why would you even need one?"

"To research on human culture through the use of the internet. Since I'm stuck here, I have to do something."

"Why are you here, anyway? I thought Azmuth put you behind bars."

"He forgave me."

" _Right._ "

Albedo raised an eyebrow. Then he turned his attention back to the laptop. He opened up Google Chrome and started searching on something.

"How the hell do you even have an internet connection?"

"Some poor fool around here always has his Wi-Fi on, and didn't bother to put a password on it." He shrugged. "The guy's technically sharing. I didn't manipulate it."

Ben blinked silently, processing that. "That's carelessness."

"You humans usually are careless."

"Hey!"

"It's the hard truth, live with it."

For a little while there was silence. Albedo continued his research and Ben looked out the window, waiting for the rain to lessen. Soon, however, he thought of a question to ask.

"So, how's the chili fry craving going?"

Albedo growled. "Very fine, thank you. I've gotten over it."

"Congrats."

"Indeed."

Ben decided to change the subject. "How long is the rain going to last?"

"For approximately the next five hours, if previous experiences are enough to go by."

"Great."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Controversy: Part One**

 **Quick Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay! School started, and I was too lazy to do things… and there's been a lot of drama in my life lately. But I'm here now! Anyway, what happened during those five hours Ben and Albedo were stuck with each other in the warehouse won't be touched on immediately, but it will eventually be told over the course of the story. I promise. And I'll try to update more often.

* * *

Albedo woke up. It was probably early in the morning. He felt slightly disoriented. He was on a bed… and if he didn't know any better, he was in a car. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

And then he remembered something.

He _was_ in a car. He was in an RV. Specifically, Maxwell Tennyson's RV. He stretched, yawning. He was in the 'Rustbucket' temporarily, at least, until all of the issues were cleared.

He looked outside a window. He guessed it was around 5 in the morning.

 _Well, if I'm awake so early, I might as well start the day._ He stood up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. _And also, make a proper mental review on just how I got here._

* * *

 _Two weeks previous…_

 _This is_ not _my best day._ That was the thought running through Albedo's mind as he sat down on a park bench. He was grateful that his bag was waterproof, and that he had the appropriate clothing to endure this weather. He was also grateful that he had so few things that he could fit them in a backpack.

After all, when you're on the run, you have to pack light.

And part of the reason was Ben Tennyson. Truth be told, he had planned ahead for several things, but being dropped in on by Ben Tennyson was not one of the scenarios that he had foreseen.

He had had to make a quilt of truth and lies, leaving everything as ambiguous as possible so that the brat would be confused. He was particularly proud of the Wi-Fi story – it should be obvious that he had hacked the server! At least, it should obvious to any other being but Ben Tennyson.

Btu, he hadn't lied about _everything._ Contrary to what some of his former accomplices in crime might think, he knew how to tell the truth.

Azmuth _had_ forgiven him. Why, and how, he didn't know. It seemed strange… no, _impossible_. It was one of the most impossible things he'd experienced in his life.

He shook his head and leaned forward a little. A hot white flash briefly lit up the landscape, putting everything in sharp contrast. Thunder boomed. He quickly calculated. The storm was closer than he'd originally thought. He stood up; he had to find shelter.

He walked briskly, though he was still deep inside his mind.

He took the shortcut, going through the alleys. He'd be there soon; he'd memorized the route.

Speaking about the forgiveness… he wondered if it was all a test; a joke. It would be cruel, but this was Azmuth. As long as he deemed something necessary, he'd do it, even if it involved manipulating or insulting the person he was trying to help.

But, anyway, the pity was that he still hadn't regained his Galvan form. It wasn't impossible, but Azmuth refused to do it. He still remembered what Azmuth had said.

 _"If you regain your Galvan form, you will still continue to err in your ways. Staying in this human form will allow you to learn the lesson of humility," he said._ Albedo rolled his eyes. _More like lesson of shame_. Any which way, he was still being punished.

Azmuth had said that two months ago. And since he was stuck here, he'd had two months actually work out the specific intricacies of this body, since there was no way he'd be able to plan criminal activities for the moment.

He wasn't entirely comfortable with the body, but he had to deal with it. In retrospect, the human body was larger and more durable than the Galvan one, but the Galvan one had fewer troubles to take care of.

He sighed. Regaining his Galvan form wasn't the only thing he failed to accomplish. Getting off this planet was another.

He had been so close. He had just managed to get a weak, though consistent link to the Intergalactic Web, probably because there was a Plumber badge close by – the badges give an instant connection. He was preparing to see if he could get off this planet at least – Azmuth hadn't said anything about that.

But, just as something went right, something had to go wrong. Ben managed to stumble on his temporary home, and, as usual, put an instant damper on his plans. He wasn't going to stay there; knowing his DNA donor, he'd probably try to get him arrested.

Luckily, he'd already planned ahead in case something like this happened, the plan being to go to another warehouse. Most of his things were there already, and he was close to it, just a

After a little more walking, he found it and stepped inside.

* * *

 _A Few Days Later…_

He had managed to do a little research. It would take a little while to decide which mode of transportation he preferred, but he was still getting off of this planet at least. He sighed. Now he could relax and –

 **BAM!**

 _…forget it…_ He looked up and saw that the door had been opened. Or rather, kicked inwards.

 _A bit dramatic, I say._ And then a Tetramand walked in. A Kineceleran and a Pyronite followed. They weren't armed. But seeing as they could do serious damage _without_ weapons, he was still in trouble.

And he was in trouble for **nothing at all** this time. Well, at least nothing what had to do with crime. He stood up.

 _"_ What is it that you want?"

Silence.

"Or did you just come to look at me?"

"No, we didn't," the Pyronite said.

"What crime have I committed?"

"None, but you're supposed to have a legal guardian on this planet. We're taking you to him."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

They all held up Plumber badges in response. Albedo made a point of checking if there was the Multiversal web signal. When he was done, they were gawking.

"My plans haven't been the best lately, but any Galvan who has graduated from primary school should be able to do that half asleep," Albedo stated, rolling his eyes. _Thoughtless of a Galvan who has graduated from a tertiary institution, with the highest honors._

"Well, you still have to come with us."

"I know." _Azmuth, I look forward to hearing the explanation for this. I really do look forward to it._


End file.
